Method of and apparatus for spreading carcasses



June 9, 1942.

H. L. MURPHY METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR SPREADING A CARCASS Filed Nov.2, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet l June 9, 1942.

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METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR SPREADING A CARCASS Filed Nov. 2, 1940 4Sheets-Sheet 3 I I I I I 21 J9 l M J5 J J4 3 J2 17 fiverzfw:

June 9, 1942. H. L. MURPHY 2,285,999

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR SPREADING A CARCASS Filed Nov. 2, 1940 4Sheets-Sheet 4 QZiZZ/TZZOW' Err j a7- Patented June 9, 1942 METHOD OFAND APPARATUS FOR SPREAD- ING OARCASSES Harry L. Murphy, La Grange,v111., assignor to Armour and Company, Chicago, 11]., a corporation ofIllinois Application November 2, 1940, Serial No. 363,999

13 Claims.

Inthe packing industry, it has. been common practice to suspendcarcasses such as those of beef by means of two hooks, one in each hindleg of the carcass, the two hooks then being carried by means ofrollers.on a track with means for propelling. the carcass along the track.During this time, the carcassis split. in two by sawing and choppingdown through the: center of the spine. Difiiculty. arises in the cuttingoperation since the angle of cleavage diminishes as the cut moves downthe carcass.

An object of this invention is to provide means for automaticallyspreading the hind legs ofthe carcass while the split is being made,thereby greatly. facilitating the cutting operation.

This and other objects are accomplished by this invention which is fullydescribed in the following specification and shown in the accompanyingdrawings in which:

Figures 1 and 1a when combined on the lines X--X form a top plan view ofthe apparatus embodying my invention;

Figs. 2 and 2a are partial sections on the line 22a.of Fig. 1, thesamebeing combined on the lines Y-Y;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section through the chains and their supports;

Fig. 4 is a reduced side elevation of the hook support and chain fordriving the same;

Fig. 5 is a similar view of a portion of the differential speedmechanism, including one link of the chain for driving the same; and

Fig. 6 is a partial side elevation similar to Fig. 2 but showing amodified form of the device.

The embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, comprises twospaced parallel supporting members l0 and I I which in this instance areI-beams supported from any suitable structure not shown. A horizontaltrack I2 is suspended preferably directly beneath the beam H by means ofa series of lugs l4, which extend around the flanges of the I-beam andare secured to the hangers by means of bolts Hi. The track I2 is securedto the bottom of the hanger 13 by means of bolts I'l. On this track runsa series of grooved rollers l8 which are journaled on suitable pins l9extending through one side of a metal strap 20, the upper end of thestrap beingbent around to form a spaced leg 2| through which theopposite end of the pin l9 extends. The upper end of this invertedU-shaped strap member has an arcuate top 22 by means of which the strapmember and its associated parts are driven as will later be explained.The lower end of the strap member is preferably turned outwardly to forma lug 23 which has a hole therein through which is pivotally mounted aneye 24 in which is hingedly mounted a meat hook 25.

The chain for driving this series of hooks will now be described. Thechain, as shown in Fig. 4, consists of a series of links 30 and 3ipivotally secured together by means of vertically extending pins 32. Thelinks 3!, shown in cross-section in Fig. 3, carry slide plates 33 aboveand dropfinger attachment plates 34 beneath, these platesbeing securedto the chain by means of a bolt 35.

The hanger I3 is provided with inwardly turned ears 35, 31 to which aresecured longitudinal guides 39, 39 which extend throughout the length ofthe track l2 and which themselves form a track on which the plates 33slide for supporting the chain.

The plate 34 has dependent spaced ears between which is pivotallymounted a pusher finger 49 which is pivotally mounted upon a bolt 41which passes through the depending ears. Each pusher finger is providedwith a ledge 42 which engages a stop 43 carried by the plate 34. Thus,as will beseen by reference to Fig. 4, the pusher finger will yield ifmoved to the right with reference to the chain to let an object such asthe arcuate top 22 of the strap 20 pass underneath, but will not yieldin the opposite direction. Thus if the chain moves to the right in Fig.4 it will positively drive the strap 29 so long as the latter is incontact with the front face of the drop finger.

The chain 39 is driven by any suitable means such as'the sprocket orsheave. 44.

The means for spreading the carcass will now be. described. Thisconsists, in the form shown in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, of a pin or thelike set to travel in front of the strap and hook for suspending arearward leg of the carcass as shown in Figs. 2 and 2a so that as thecarcass advances the suspending means will gradually be separated duringthe time the carcass is split down its backbone. In order to do this Ihave provided an additional chain 59 as shown in Fig. 1 which passesaround suitable sheaves or sprockets 5|, 52 and extends only parallel toso much of the chain 30 as is necessary for the splitting operation totake place. This chain is similar to the chain 30 and carries slideplates 53 which run on horizontal guides 54 similar to the guides 38 aspreviously described. To these is secured an attachment plate 55 whichcarries a pin 56 which extends into the path of the straps 20 duringthat portion of the travel of the latter when the carcass is being splitor halved.

By reference to Figs. 1, 1a, 2 and 2a it will be seen that the chain 30carries a number of spaced pusher or drop fingers 40 which are adaptedto be engaged by straps 20 whose hooks carry the forward legs of thecarcass suspended thereon so as to positively propel the carcass alongthe track 12 by means of these pusher fingers. It will also be notedthat forwardly facing pusher fingers 40a are placed between the pusherfingers 40. The former serves to propel the carcass up to the time it iscut in half and after that the fingers 40a serve to propel the rearwardhalf of the carcass while the pusher fingers 40 propel the forward half.

Hold back fingers 40b and 400, two in number, are preferably placedbetween each pair of pusher fingers 40 and 40a. These fingers aremounted exactly the same as the pusher fingers except that they are setin the reverse direction and serve to hold the rear leg of the carcassseparated from the forward leg after it has passed a hold back finger.

The operation of this apparatus is as follows: With the chain travelingfrom right to left as shown in Figs, 2 and 2a, the carcass suspended byits hind legs on two spaced hooks 25 carried by straps is brought in onthe track l2 from a previous packing operation and when it arrives atstation E the following operation begins. At this point, the twoparallel chains are so timed that a finger 56, as shown in Figs. 1a and2a, carried .by the chain 50 turns in front of a rearward strap 20. Thechain 50 is set to travel at a somewhat slower rate of speed than thatof the chain 30 with the result that as the carcass advances therearward strap 20, as shown in station D, is drawn back so as to be outof contact with its hold back fingers 4%. As the carcass advances, thepin 56 falls father and farther behind the forward strap 20 with theresult that the two straps, together with the two legs of the carcasswhich they suspend are separated more and more thereby greatlyfacilitating the longitudinal cutting of the carcass of the beef orother animal into two halves. This progression is shown through stationsC and B, the operation of cutting the carcass into halves being showncompleted at station A.

As a modification of the invention, I have shown in Fig. 6 aconstruction wherein the carcass is carried on similar hooks 56suspended on straps 20a from a track I2a. In this case the pin 56a issimilarly mounted on a chain not shown but in the same manner as thepins 56 of Fig. 1. In this case, however, the pin runs at a differentialspeed to the chain 30a but faster than the chain, whereas the pin 56runs slower than the chain. In this case the actual propulsion of thecarcass is by means of the pins 56a, during the time it is in engagementwith the strap 200., whereas in the form shown in Figs, 1

' to 5, inclusive, the carcass was propelled by the pusher fingers 40.The operation of spreading the legs of the carcass during theoperation'of cutting is otherwise the same.

The mechanism which has been set out in detail is for the purpose ofexplaining the invention; other specific mechanism could obviously beused just as well. While I have shown and described but a fewembodiments of my invention it is to be understood that it is capable ofmany modifications. Changes, therefore, may be made in the constructionand arrangements may be made which do not depart from the spirit andscope of the invention as set forth in the apmeans in the direction oftravel thereof as the carcass advances.

3. The method of spreading a carcass comprising suspending the carcassby its hind legs, propelling one of the suspending means at one speed,and propelling the other suspending means at another speed,

4. The method of spreading a carcass comprising suspending the carcassby its hind legs, propelling one of the suspending means at one speed,and propelling the other suspending means at a slower speed.

5. The method of spreading a carcass comprising suspending the carcassby its hind legs, propelling one of the suspending means at one speed,and propelling the other suspending means at a faster speed.

6. Mechanism for spreading a carcass comprising means for suspendingeach hind leg of the carcass, means for conveying the carcass by thesuspending means, and means for spreading the suspending means in thedirection of travel thereof as the carcass advances.

7. Mechanism for spreading a carcass comprising means for suspendingeach hind leg of the carcass, means for continuously conveying thecarcass by the suspending means, and means for spreading the suspendingmeans in the direction of travel thereof as the carcass advances.

8. Mechanism for spreading a carcass comprising means for suspendingeach hind leg of the carcass, means for propelling one of the suspending means at one speed, and means for propelling the othersuspending means at another speed.

9. Mechanism for spreading a carcass comprising means for suspendingeach hind leg of the carcass, means for propelling one of the suspendingmeans at one speed, and means for propelling the other suspending meansat a slower speed.

10. Mechanism for spreading a carcass comprising means for suspendingeach hind leg of the carcass, means for propelling one of the suspendingmeans at one speed, and means for propelling the other suspending meansat a faster speed.

11. Mechanism for spreading a carcass comprising a track, hooks for thecarcass each having associated therewith a roller running on the track,a chain parallel to the track, pawl-like fingers carried by the chainfor propelling the hooks in one direction but permitting the hooks topass in the other, a second chain parallel to the first for apredetermined interval, the two chains being driven at different speeds,and a means on the second chains operable between the hooks to cause thehooks to separate further as the chains advance.

l2. Mechanism for spreading a carcass comprising independently movablehooks for suspending each leg of a carcass, means for moving said hooksto advance the carcass, and means for spreading the hooks apart in thedirection of travel thereof during movement of the carcass.

13. Mechanism for spreading a carcass comprising a pair of hooks spacedapart in a line, means mounting said hooks for movement along said line,said hooks being adapted for suspending the legs of a carcass, and meansfor moving said hooks at different speeds whereby they will be separatedalong the line of motion thereof.

HARRY L. MURPHY,

